8 Comments

  1. Paul Widergren says:

    Impressive site. I have been working on a Latin project for Wikisource and came across your site. I personally have been using AutoHotkey to automate certain repetitive functions such as adding macrons when needed (āēīōū), or other letters not included on a English keyboard (äåö æåø äöüß etc.) with my Windows 11 computer. After the AutoHotkey program has been downloaded and installed , a simple text script like the one below saved as an .ahk file (UTF encoding) from Notepad remaps CTRL + a to ā and SHIFT+CRTL+a to Ā, etc. CTRL (^) + key is a default for the progam and the basis for the script and method I have become accustomed to using. But, of course, it is possible to remap ALT + Key (like the Hawaiian keyboard configuration, or deadkey + Key (like the Māori keyboard) using AutoHotkey too. To do so would simply be a bit more complicated and require a somewhat more in-depth knowledge of the AutoHotkey programming languaege. I have even seen AutoHotkey scripts that cycle through a range of accents like my phone does (a æ ã å á à â ā) through repeated pressing of a, but getting a macron by this method might entail pressing a five times.

    Sample AutoHotkey script for CNTL+a to ā, etc.

    ^a::ā
    ^e::ē
    ^i::ī
    ^o::ō
    ^u::ū
    ^y::ȳ
    ^+a::Ā
    ^+e::Ē
    ^+i::Ī
    ^+o::Ō
    ^+u::Ū
    ^+y::Ȳ

    Thought this might be worth a mention, although your descriptions are clear and equally valid approaches to this issue.

    Bene vale.

    1. Hi Paul, thank you for this suggestion! This is another good option for people wishing to type macrons on their computer. I have been quite happy with the Māori keyboard because of its simplicity – you just download it and you are good to go. But if people are already using AutoHotkeys and are familiar with its functions, then it would make sense to set up shortcuts for the macrons in that way.

      Thanks for stopping by, and best of luck with your Wikisource project!

  2. Matthew Curtis says:

    Thank you so much! This makes typing in latin so much easier! I’ve been using alt codes, so typing words like Rōmānōrum were a nightmare. This is so much better!

    1. Hi Matthew, it is great to hear that you found the post helpful! These tips have saved me SO much time, and I am sure they will do the same for you!

  3. May I add a (tangentially related) question?… When I attempt to copy text with macrons (e.g., from a pdf) and paste into a text file (Notepad or Notepad++) or word processor document (LibreOffice), the macrons are absent from the pasted-in document. I can compose characters with macrons in the text editor or word processor (so I presume their character set recognizes characters with macrons) but not paste it in. Can anyone explain what’s happening and how I might be able to preserve the macrons in the copied text? Thanks!

    1. Hi Rob, I believe that this has to do with a) how the macrons are encoded in the PDF or b) how the encoding works in your text file or word processor document. If a) is the problem, I don’t think there is much you can do. I have this issue with older PDFs (especially scans) where the macrons and other accents just aren’t encoded properly.

      If b) is the problem, then I suggest looking into how precisely encoding works in Notepad, Notepad ++, or LibreOffice. There may be a setting that you can change so that macrons and other accents aren’t stripped. I don’t use these programs myself, so I am afraid I cannot help you with specifics.

  4. Thank you! Installing the shortcuts in Japanese MS Word worked perfectly! I use the macrons for typing the Hepburn romaji of Japanese words.

    The other fun thing in Japanese MS Word is that it can install the furigana (hiragana characters) on top of the kanji (Chinese characters) to show pronunciation.

    1. Hi Jim, I’m so glad that my post helped you out! That’s great that MS Word can also install furigana. I don’t have any experience with Japanese, but I would love to learn some day. At the moment I use macrons for pinyin and, of course, Latin!

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